Senior diver proves invaluable to RU

If one were to attend a Rutgers swimming and diving meet at the RU Aquatics Center, it is easy for divers to go unnoticed.

Frantic fans screaming at the top of their lungs and coaches and teammates rapidly waving their arms back and fourth, encouraging swimmers to go faster, usually garner the fans attention.

But the program knows it has senior diver Nicole Scott, the newly named NJAIAW Woman of the Year, as the Scarlet Knights’ secret weapon.

While most of the divers are hard to spot, Scott sticks out with her strong form, precise movement and the white tape she wears on her left thumb before every diving meet.

“She really shows great consistency, and she’s really mastered a lot of her dives,” said head diving coach Fred Woodruff. “She’s also very sharp in competition. She tends to dive a little better in competition than she does in practice, which is always a nice thing to see.”

The Toronto native is a team captain, a school record holder and even taught a class in food science.

But before all those accolades, Scott joined the Knights as a timid freshman, a bit unsure of her diving abilities.

“If somebody were to ask me whether she was going to teach a class when she was a freshman, I would have said they were crazy,” Woodruff said. “But now she’s really matured and developed … and she’s a different person now, more confident, willing to take risks and I think that’s pretty cool.”

Scott’s impact on the team is hard to ignore. During her junior year, Scott broke a school record in the platform event at the Big East Championships for a gold medal finish.

She also competed in the NCAA Women’s National Diving Championships after automatically qualifying following her silver medal finish at the Zone A Diving Championships.

This season, Scott reset her record in the platform event during the Frank Elm Invitational Nov. 22- 24 and broke a six-year standing record in the 3-meter dive during a quad meet in early November.

But Scott’s leadership and a positive personality toward her teammates may distinguish her the most.

“She is an amazing person and an amazing diver … and as my co-captain, I trust her with everything,” said senior swimmer Allyson Perrotti. “I will always go to her if I need her. She’s one of my best friends and I think she’s amazing and she’s going to do well no matter where she goes in life.”

Although the success Scott has gained are remarkable achievements, the unforgettable friends and relationships made are more meaningful.

“It’s been amazing. When I came here I really just wanted to experience a team atmosphere,” Scott said. “Diving isn’t really a team sport. In club it’s more of an individual sport, so I was just hoping that I could be able to continue diving, and it’s better than I ever could have imagined.”

For updates on the Rutgers swimming and diving team, follow @TargumSports on Twitter.